Strengthening the capacity of the health sector and migrants' access to health services in the COVID-19 context in Colombia

The EU is mobilising resources through LACIF, IDB and AECID (totalling 152.112.000 EUR) to respond to the challenges faced by Colombia's General System of Social Security, which include factors such as the ageing population, chronic diseases and high-cost treatments and other specific factors that threaten its financial stability. These factors range from limited funding in a context of increasing demand for new affiliates and expensive technology, to a fragmented service model with deficiencies in primary care services, health promotion and disease prevention programming; and the recent waves of Venezuelan migrants without health insurance, who receive expensive emergency medical care.

The project supports the Government of Colombia in improving the country’s institutional capacities in health planning and management at the territorial level. It also serves to better the health outcomes of migrants and host communities by increasing the coverage of affiliation to the SGSSS and improving the country’s institutional capacities in health planning and management at the territorial level. It aims at improving the provision of basic health services for vulnerable irregular migrants, with an emphasis on women and their sexual and reproductive rights.

More specifically, the project:

• improves the management expenditure on health services and technologies not financed by the Capitation Payment Unit;
• increases the efficiency and coverage of the Social Security;
• improves health coverage for the migrant population and host communities, with special emphasis on women's sexual and reproductive rights and gender-based violence.

This is achieved through the following components:

1. (i) Migrant population gets access to the General System of Social Security in Health SGSSS;
2. (ii) Technical Assistance and knowledge transfer resulting in strengthened capacities of institutional and community actors;
3. (iii) Individual health care for the undocumented migrant population.